Desert Schools Federal Credit Union
The Desert Schools Federal Credit Union is a financial institution that serves the state of Arizona. It has over 60 branches around the state and offers personal services such as home loans, savings accounts, auto loans, credit cards, insurance, investment and retirement plans, school loans and even loans for building pools and purchasing recreational vehicles. It also offers business services such as business savings and savings accounts, business financing and revolving lines of credit, business insurance, and even services to help businesses connect with other businesses who are members of the union.
People often bank at a bank or credit union with really understanding the differences. What makes the Desert Schools Federal Credit Union different from a bank, in other words. Banks are owned by individuals and investors, while credit unions are owned by the people who join the organization, in other words by the account holders. This means that with banks the profits go to the investors and stock holders while the credit unions are non profit. The profits go back to the members in the form of lower interest rates on loans and higher dividends on investments. As far as FDIC insurance that guarantees accounts, federal credit unions are no different from banks.
One of the features people most like about credit unions is the personal service they offer. Many credit unions are affiliated with some company, group or organization. For example the Desert Schools Federal Credit Union was begun in 1939 by a small group of teachers who wanted to pool their money to make better investments. More on that later. The point is that credit unions generally know each of their customers, where banks tend to treat people more like numbers. Credit unions become more involved with their members, because the members are also the owners whom the credit union seeks to serve.
Back to that history. The Desert Schools Federal Credit Union began with only 15 members, each of whom invested $5 and a $.15 membership fee. It grew to assets of $982.72 in only six months, with membership swelling to 54 people. By the time WW2 ended in 1945, it had grown to 225 people and over $9000 in assets. The credit union didn't hire its first employee until 1947. Annis King worked part time in an office about the size of a closet. Her tools were a card file, a 10-key calculator and a line-o-dex. By 1999 that initial $75 had grown to a staggering $1.3 billion in assets with 200,000 members.
Desert Schools Federal Credit Union is a great choice for people who live in Arizona.